New Article on Real Estate Developers in Geoforum.

My new article titled “Giving Back to Get Ahead: Altruism as a Developer Strategy of Accumulation Through Affordable Housing Policy in Toronto and Vancouver,” is online ahead of print with the journal Geoforum. You can check it out here.

In the article I focus on a policy known as “land value capture” where cities exchange density with condo developers to produce affordable housing and other services. My study looks at the paradoxical nature of this approach to funding social welfare where developers “give back” while at the same time increasing their profits. Along the way I use this finding to deepen theories about the relationship between altruism and profitability in the development industry.

For those interested in urban politics, the paper also contains analysis of three major redevelopment projects in Canadian cities, Woodward’s in Vancouver and Honest Ed’s and Regent Park in Toronto.

The article is part of a special issue on the role of real estate developers in processes of urbanization. In addition to my work on Toronto and Vancouver, papers in the collection look at developers in London, Cape Town, Delhi and Mumbai amongst others. I’m excited to be a part of this growing conversation in urban studies!